Folks interested in the question of astronomy and neolithic monuments might
enjoy the following article, which presents the current scientific "state
of the question" in a stimulating way:
Lynch, Ann. "Astronomical Alignment or Megalithic Muddle?" In Donnchadh Ó
Corráin, ed., Irish Antiquity. Cork: Tower Books, 1981, pp. 23-7.
Phyllis
>I shall recheck my notes. There was an excellent BBC program done of
>Stonehenge about 20 years ago. I have it on tape at school and I'll send the
>details. I'm sure it's still available. Stonehenge not only can be used to
>predict seasons and Midsummer's day (isn't that the 21st?), but eclipses as
>well. It is dated 17th century b.C., which is amazing. Who did it? What
>mathematics did they use? How could they create something so amazingly
>accurate? On churches, I always thought that many churches were oriented
>East/West as a matter of tradition. So many of them, especially after the
>transept was added to the plan, creating a cruciform ground plan, were oriented
>east/west, creating the north, south, and west facades, the latter always being
>the main entrance. The apse, later chorus, was always to the east. A good
>source for the this is Sir Bannister Fletcher's _History of Architecture..._,
>now in it's 18th edition. He provides beautiful line drawings and ground
>plans. yrs, tom ault
Phyllis G. Jestice
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